In the footsteps of Georges Brassens: La Goutte d'Or, Montmartre and Trinité

Starting point and access: Gare de l'Est, Rue du 8 Mai 1945.
- Metro - Lines 4, 5 and 7, Gare de l'Est station, exit 8 Boulevard Magenta. At the top of the metro entrance, turn left, cross the street to Rue du 8 Mai 1945 on the left-hand side.
- Transilien - Line P (terminus). Leave the station on the same level (do not take the stairs), then cross the entrance courtyard to reach Rue du 8 Mai 1945.

No signage

(S) Facing the station, turn left (west) onto Rue du 8 Mai 1945; in order to cross Boulevard de Magenta, it is best to stay on the left-hand (south) pavement. At the crossroads, cross Boulevard de Magenta. Continue straight ahead, slightly to the left, into the courtyard of the Ferme Saint-Lazare.

Ignore a small street on the right. At the fork (monumental building of the electricity distribution company), turn right. Before the end of the cul-de-sac, turn right under a porch (Cité de Chabrol).

(1) At the end of the alley, turn left onto Rue de Chabrol. Ignore Cité d'Hauteville on your left and continue to the next intersection. Turn right onto Rue d'Hauteville. Cross Rue Lafayette in several stages, then climb the stairs opposite to reach the forecourt of Saint-Vincent de Paul Church.

Go around the church on the right via Rue Bossuet. At the end of the church, turn left onto Rue Belzunce, then right onto Rue Saint-Vincent de Paul. At the next crossroads, turn right to cross Boulevard de Magenta and Rue de Dunkerque, then turn onto Rue de Maubeuge.

(2) At the next crossroads, ignore Rue Ambroise Paré on your left and continue along Rue de Maubeuge, which veers slightly to the left. Walk past Lariboisière Hospital on your left. At the end of the street, you will find a pedestrian crossing on your right to cross the first arm of Boulevard de la Chapelle.

Go under the elevated metro line and turn right again to use the pedestrian crossing to cross the second arm of Boulevard de la Chapelle. Turn left immediately to cross Rue de Tombouctou. Then turn right into Rue de Chartes (view of Sacré Cœur). At the next crossroads, take the second right, Rue Boris Vian (upstairs). Come out onto Rue de la Goutte d'Or and make a zigzag left-right turn to continue on Rue Boris Vian (more stairs).

Red and yellow markings

(3) At the top, turn left onto Rue Polonceau and walk along Square Léon on your right. At the crossroads, turn left and go down Rue des Gardes. Return to Rue de la Goutte d'Or and follow it to the right until you reach Boulevard Barbès. Turn right and follow the boulevard for a few metres. At the traffic lights, cross the boulevard and go up Rue Christiani (large bookshop on the left).

At the next crossroads, take the third right, Rue de Clignancourt. At the next crossroads, turn left into Rue Ramey (middle lane). At the corner of No. 9, turn left into Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, which starts with five steps. Go straight up, staying on the left-hand side of the street.

After a bend to the right, cross Rue Albert, note Passage Cottin on the right (very steep downhill steps) and continue along Rue du Chevalier de la Barre. Cross Rue Lamarck and continue up a flight of steps. At the top, turn right and then immediately left, still on Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, and go around the chevet of the Sacré Cœur Basilica on the right.

(4) At the crossroads, with the Church of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre opposite and the Sacré Cœur Basilica on your left, turn left and head towards the Sacré Cœur forecourt (panoramic view). Retrace your steps.

(4) Turn left to walk the last section of Rue du Chevalier de la Barre. At the end, turn right onto Rue du Mont Cenis. Walk past the Montmartre water tower (on your right), ignore Rue Cortot (on your left) and go down the steps on Rue du Mont Cenis. At the bottom, before the second set of steps, turn left onto Rue Saint-Vincent.

Walk along the "wild garden" on your left, then the Montmartre vineyard. At the corner of the vineyard, turn left onto Rue des Saules and walk uphill. Take the first right, Rue de l'Abreuvoir, downhill. When you reach Place Dalida, leave the bust on your right and continue straight ahead into Allée des Brouillards, a path that ends with a descending staircase.

No signposts

(5) Enter Square Suzanne Buisson on the left. At the fork that immediately appears, take the left path. Pass in front of the statue of Saint Denis carrying his head, continue in the same direction and exit the square at the back on the left, Impasse Girardon. Go to Place Marcel Aymé and, at the corner of a theatre, turn right into Rue Girardon, which goes downhill.

At the bottom, turn left onto Rue Lepic, which goes uphill. At the corner of No. 110, just before Place Jean-Baptiste Clément, turn right onto Rue de la Mire (downhill staircase). Turn right onto Rue Ravignan, ignoring Rue d'Orchampt coming from the right and then Rue Berthe coming from the left. Cross Place Emile Goudeau, veering to the left, and finish with a staircase. Turn left onto Rue des Trois Frères and, after about 50 metres, turn right onto Passage des Abbesses (downward staircase). After the staircase, make a zigzag left-right turn and then pass under a porch.

(6) Turn left onto Rue des Abbesses, then turn left when you reach the square of the same name. Enter Square Jehan Rictus on the left and walk to the "Je t'aime" wall. Retrace your steps to the exit of Passage des Abbesses.

(6) Take the stairs on the left and go down Rue André Antoine. Ignore Rue Véron coming from the right and turn left with the alleyway. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead into Rue Piémontési, which slopes slightly upwards. At the next crossroads, turn left onto Rue Houdon. Find Rue des Abbesses and follow it to the right.

At the next intersection, turn right and then immediately left onto Rue d'Orsel. When you reach Place Charles Dullin (theatre opposite), turn right onto Rue Dancourt and follow it to Boulevard de Rochechouart. Cross the boulevard in two stages and continue opposite on Rue Bochart de Saron, preferably using the right-hand pavement. Take the first right, Rue Cretet. At the fork, turn left onto Rue Lallier. At the end of the street, cross Avenue Trudaine in two stages and, continuing straight on, cross Place Lino Ventura.

(7) Continue straight ahead on Rue des Martyrs, which slopes slightly downwards. At the corner of No. 39, turn right onto Rue de Navarin. Then turn left onto Rue Henry Monnier and walk along Place Gustave Toudouze on your left. Cross Rue Clauzel and Rue Laferrière, then turn left onto Rue Notre-Dame de Lorette and continue to Place Saint-Georges.

Leave the square via the first street on the right, Rue Saint-Georges. Take the first street on the right, Rue d'Aumale. Ignore Rue Taibout coming from the left and, at the next crossroads, turn left onto Rue de La Rochefoucauld. At number 12, turn right onto Rue de la Tour des Dames.

(8) At the end, turn left onto Rue Blanche. After about 50 metres, turn right and walk along Square d'Estienne d'Orves on your right, at the foot of the Sainte-Trinité church. Cross Rue de Clichy and take Rue de Londres diagonally to the right.

Before reaching Rue d'Amsterdam, turn sharply left, cross Place de Budapest and continue along the street of the same name. Pass under the arcades and turn right onto Rue Saint-Lazare. Cross Rue d'Amsterdam, turn right into Cour du Havre and you will arrive at Gare Saint-Lazare (E).

To return home:
- Metro - Lines 3, 9, 12, 13, and 14.
- RER - Line E (Haussmann-Saint-Lazare station nearby).
- Transilien - lines J and L.

Public transport is by far the best way to get to this walk! The large number of metro and bus stations nearby means that you can shorten the walk as you wish, depending on how much time you have or how you feel.

Good trainers are all you need for this urban route. The time indicated is the actual walking time and does not include breaks or any visits.

The space is shared with many other users. The area around the Sacré Cœur is particularly busy: in summer, those who dislike crowds may wish to avoid the return trip to the square from the starting point (4).

There are numerous bars, restaurants and shops along the route, offering plenty of opportunities to quench your thirst or grab a bite to eat. There is a lively market on Boulevard de la Chapelle, under the elevated metro line.

Although street names are almost always indicated on site, a map is always useful (at least the one accompanying this description).

The author has completed this walk twice, the first time on 17 February 2016 and the second on 2 January 2021.

In this section, there are three types of points of interest: (i) places associated with the life of Georges Brassens, (ii) places associated with his songs, whose titles are in italics, and (iii) other key heritage sites.

Benches can be found everywhere, and we know that they are there for lovers of public benches.

Wallace fountains are drinking fountains installed from 1872 onwards, following the siege of Paris, thanks to a donation from Richard Wallace (1818-1890). They have a distinctive shape with four young women reminiscent of ancient Greece and wearing a small dome above their heads. In Le Bistro, Brassens envisions "drinking deeply from all the Wallace fountains". On this second section, there are Wallace Fountains in four locations: the intersection of Rue des Gardes and Rue de la Goutte d'Or; Place Emile Goudeau; Place des Abbesses; Place Gustave Toudouze; and Place de Budapest.

Between the Gare de l'Est (S) and Rue Boris Vian (3):
- Gare de l'Est - It was from here that Georges Brassens left for Germany in March 1943, travelling to the Berlin area as part of the Compulsory Work Service (STO). Having been granted leave in March 1944, he remained in Paris, where he went into hiding until the end of the war.
- At the corner of Boulevard de Magenta and Rue Chabrol, Marché Saint-Quentin (1866), whose metal architecture is reminiscent of Baltard's.
- Courtyard of the Ferme Saint-Lazare - Monumental building of the Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d'Electricité.
- Saint-Vincent de Paul Church (19th century).
- Rue Bossuet - La fessée. In this song, Brassens uses the expression "qu'est-ce que de nous?" (what arewe?), which Bossuet used to condemn vanity, particularly in his Sermon on Death and the Brevity of Life (1662).
- Rue de la Goutte d'Or - Wine. The "goutte d'or" (golden drop) was once a reward given to the best wine.
- Rue Boris Vian - Born a year apart, Boris Vian and Georges Brassens rubbed shoulders in Paris during their careers and held each other in high esteem. In his work as a critic, Boris Vian wrote several articles praising Georges Brassens, who wrote a dedication on the album "Chansons possibles et impossibles" (Possible and Impossible Songs) that Boris Vian published in 1956.

Between Rue Boris Vian (3) and Square Suzanne Buisson (5):
- Stairways and paths of Montmartre.
- Square Léon - Old Léon.
- Rue du Chevalier de la Barre - François-Jean Lefebvre de La Barre (1745-1766) was tortured and executed for blasphemy and sacrilege, and Voltaire took up his cause. The street was named after him in 1888, presumably as a form of "compensation" while the Sacré Coeur was being built nearby. Some street signs refer to the Chevalier as a "free thinker". This snub would undoubtedly have pleased the libertarian and anti-clerical Brassens...
- At 23 Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, Monique Morelli's (1923-1993) former cabaret, where she performed as the opening act for Georges Brassens in 1969.
- Parvis du Sacré Cœur - Panoramic view of Paris and its suburbs.
- At 13 Rue du Mont Cenis, Patachou's former cabaret where, in 1952, she sang Brassens' songs before bringing him on stage herself (this encounter was decisive for Georges Brassens' career). A plaque lists the names of singers who began their careers there, with Brassens prominently featured. Today, this address is home to an art gallery.
- Rue Saint-Vincent, Montmartre vineyard - Wine, Le vieux Léon, The bistro.
- At the intersection of Rue Saint-Vincent and Rue des Saules, the Lapin Agile, a famous cabaret.
- Rue des Saules - The will: "I will be sad like a willow tree when ...".
- At the intersection of Rue des Saules and Rue de l'Abreuvoir, the house of painter Maurice Utrillo (1883-1955).
- Rue de l'Abreuvoir - Old house with a sundial.
- Château des Brouillards (late 18th century).

Between Square Suzanne Buisson (5) and Gare Saint-Lazare (E):
- Square Suzanne Buisson - Statue of Saint Denis carrying his head. The first bishop of Paris, Saint Denis was executed by the Romans in the second half of the 3rd century. Beheaded on the Butte Montmartre (etymologically, "Hill of Martyrs"), he rose to his feet and carried his head away, washing it in a spring. He then walked, carrying his head in his hands, to the current location of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, where he was buried.
- Place Marcel Aymé - At the end of Place Marcel Aymé, there is a sculpture of Passe-muraille "coming out of the wall". It was Marcel Aymé who, in 1963, presented Georges Brassens with the Grand Prix international du disque awarded by the Académie Charles-Cros.
- Place Jean-Baptiste Clément.
- At the corner of Rue Girardon and Rue Lepic, the Moulin de la Galette - Les amours d'antan.
- At 13 Place Emile Goudeau, the Bateau-lavoir, a former artists' building.
- Place des Abbesses.
- The Wall of Love (Square Jehan Rictus), a work by Frédéric Baron and Claire Kito (2000) where the expression "I love you" is written in 311 different languages and dialects - Les amoureux des bancs publics, Le testament, Embrasse-les tous.
- At 37 Rue André Antoine, sculpture of a partially nude woman reading.
- Place Lino Ventura - The actor (1919-1987) was part of Georges Brassens' inner circle of friends.
- Place Saint-Georges, a nod to Brassens' patron saint.
- At 14 Rue de La Rochefoucauld, Musée Gustave Moreau (painter, 1826-1898).
- Rue de la Tour des Dames - on the left-hand side, private mansions; on the right-hand side, the former building of the Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d'Électricité.
- Church of the Holy Trinity.
- Rue de Londres - At no. 8, gate of a former SNCF headquarters; at no. 30, former headquarters of the Société Française des Eaux Minérales (blue tiled façade).
- Saint-Lazare station, Cour du Havre - Sculpture made from watch and clock faces.